English is a complicated, confusing language. With homonyms, homophones, a plethora of synonyms and words taken from multiple cultural roots, it is astonishing how complex our language can be.

But as complicated as it is, 12 young students are about to show us their proficiency with a range of English's more difficult words. On Tuesday at 6 p.m., two champions from each of the six counties in our region will take the stage in the Johnson Symposium at Victoria College to compete in the regional spelling bee. The winner will go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Last year, the regional competition went for 31 rounds before a winner was determined.

We're looking forward to seeing some of the best and brightest of the upcoming generation show us their intelligence. To help residents share in the fun of the bee, we will once again be offering a live webcast of the event on our website. As the students spell their words over the microphone, members of the community will be trying their best to spell them in the online chat.

We applaud all of these students for their amazing effort and intelligence. It takes a lot of courage to stand on a stage and spell out such uncommon words as "mollycoddle," "remora" and "liminal." Their ability is something to be admired, and we encourage members of the community to come out and encourage these students as they give it their all in an effort to represent the Crossroads in Washington, D.C.

To all of the spellers, good luck. We look forward to seeing you on stage and celebrating every correctly spelled word with you.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.